NigelOnDraft, thankyou... your post makes it clear that this is certainly a situation out of the ordinary and not something that has been trained for. Don't get me wrong I believe there is still a tremendous amount of skill and an amazing ability to make decisions under pressure involved even if a pilot has been trained for this scenario. I do believe that if someone goes into a job with these possible situations then he shouldnt go seeking recognition at every opportunity.
rmac, very good analogy. I have been in a live fire situation from close quarters in a pub alone in northern ireland and know for a fact that you cannot put such a situation down to training alone, the personality of the individual involved is the main factor in any situation. As you can probably tell, i didn't die.
NigelOnDraft gave the perfect answer to the statement "all in a days work" this is the internet, not everyone who reads these forums is a qualfied captain on 747s. Explaining the situation to the reading public does a hell of a lot more for the pilot community than taking a mightier than though position! rmac, Get off your high horse!